Isn’t it funny how people’s views of matches are different. I had the unenviable task of painting the bathroom ceiling last Saturday so I listened to the game via Mixlr. But when I watched the highlights, I felt the commentary had not done justice to a couple of the incidents, including the first goal. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder I suppose.

Anyway as I can’t make this evenings game either, I will have to rely on others views again but all we are really bothered about is the result now.

In the context of Gatesheads four games in a week, we should catch them at a low point and will hopefully win. A nice high tempo game with the quality of our squad should do the trick.

All eyes and ears will also be glued on the other National League fixtures but particularly on the Macclesfield game. A win for Rovers and a defeat for the Silkmen could set into motion a serious wobble that we might capitalise on.

Hope springs eternal and it’s a High hope for sure but wouldn’t it be lovely!!!

I've injured myself in the pre-match warm-up so can't make it to PP this evening... my knee started to play up on the way to the shop to grab a few cans.

I am confidently predicting a match full of pressure by TRFC on the Gateshead goal, both the bar and the post hit, two clear penalties not given to us, their GK M-O-T-M and Gateshead on the break scoring a totally unwarranted winner. 0-1.

p.s. I am not related to either Mystic Meg or Nostradamus so I have utmost confidence in my prediction being crap!

Oh dear. Wish I hadn't thought about 6wins. Statistically, Tranmere have tended to stumble into the playoffs. They were 5th in the year they beat Bolton, so I should have expected this. Not there. Is the pitch heavy?

Half time I was consulting my doomometer ,watched Liverpool .then checked scores ,fell of the couch .you never know what’s coming next .4goals for the main man Cook .who was the last Tranmere player to score four goals .i can’t remember ,but well done team .Halifax won again that could be sticky next Tuesday .wrexham failing again .chester done us a good turn .a good nights work

just woken up to see the score, we turned it around then and 4 goals for cookie. shame that macc won. wrexham are stuttering, lol. sutton utd not doing well, maybe they don't want to rip up their 3G pitch after all.. amazing turn around from roma to beat barca.

The trouble is I don’t think we can keep hold of Cook especially if we don’t go up .he will be off to a bigger club and more money ,you can’t blame him .maybe Norwood to .that would be a huge blow .interesting summer .MM contract up to

[quote pc1968]Last player to score 4 in a league game possibly Ian Muir against Peterborough ?
I remember that game. It was a rescheduled match; the original game was abandoned due to floodlight failure when Peterborough were winning 1-0. In the replay we won 7-0 with Ian Muir scoring 4 goals. Great memories!

[quote pc1968]Last player to score 4 in a league game possibly Ian Muir against Peterborough ?
I remember that game. It was a rescheduled match; the original game was abandoned due to floodlight failure when Peterborough were winning 1-0. In the replay we won 7-0 with Ian Muir scoring 4 goals. Great memories!

I was just going to ask that. Did Aldo score a Hat Trick? Last one I remember was Rideout against Southampton. Great times but Cookie is more important now in terms of achieving our League status again.

My apologies if I'm wrong but didn't the fourth come off his backside whilst a mile (and a half) offside? Not that I'm complaining. Whenever Cookie was up for a jump in the area, no one looked capable of competing. That alone bodes well for the playoffs.

For balance, we had, let's say, a voracious appetite for risk in the first half. We've all seen Steve with his Cruff turns in the past but today it was clear three were instructions not to play long or safe at the back in the first half.

Those sentiments clearly changed during the half time talk as McNulty booted the ball out of play from a central position early in the second half.

It's starting to look like the home tie against Macc is likely to be the focal point of the whole season. A game we COMPLETELY dominated for 55 minutes. Such a shame.

Anyway. Good that we tend to sweep the underdogs aside. Especially at home. I just hope we can bring our A-Rod game when playing against the top sides

FiftyyearsaroverHalf time I was consulting my doomometer ,watched Liverpool .then checked scores ,fell of the couch .you never know what’s coming next .4goals for the main man Cook .who was the last Tranmere player to score four goals .i can’t remember ,but well done team .Halifax won again that could be sticky next Tuesday .wrexham failing again .chester done us a good turn .a good nights work

Halifax is a week on Saturday-at least that's when I'm going. Dover is next Tuesday.

See that last nights Gateshead goalkeeper is a relative of legendary 70s Sunderland keeper, Jimmy Montgomery. I still believe the greatest save i've ever seen was Jimmy Montgomerys amazing double save in the 1973 FA Cup final, even better than the Banks save against Pele 3 years earlier.

Well, that was a game of two halves, if ever there was one. First half was verging on nightmarish, but Cook's last minute goal was a psychological game-changer. Going in at 2-0 down, I personally think it would have been a different outcome. The second half was like retro Rovers and gave me flashbacks to some of our memorable comebacks; it's been a while! Cook had an outstanding all-round game and you get the feeling we must go up for him to stay.
In the first half we seemed to sit off them, giving them too much time and space on the ball, which epitomised both goals. Second half we harried them more and got in their faces, which they struggled to cope with.
It's a shame Macclesfield won, which took some of the gloss off our victory, but hats off to them as they've won yet another fixture we failed to win (that's a fact, not pessimism!).
Second place now looks very achievable and don't mind who we play; would be great to play Wrexham, with PP packed to the rafters. However, I have predicted that Wrexham will miss out on the play-offs and currently that's where it's heading; where's Dai when you need him!!

Credit to Gateshead for making it a good open game. Two up front - definitely a change to see someone come and take us on rather than parking the bus ad deploying the dark arts. A case of deja vu meets ground hog day for the goals. Rides skinned by York for the first and Davies beaten by a nothing shot from distance. But we always looked like we had goals in us. Cookie was magnificent and will probably think he should have scored 5 - skewing a shot off target when it looked easier to score.

Phil65Well, that was a game of two halves, if ever there was one. First half was verging on nightmarish, but Cook's last minute goal was a psychological game-changer. Going in at 2-0 down, I personally think it would have been a different outcome. The second half was like retro Rovers and gave me flashbacks to some of our memorable comebacks; it's been a while! Cook had an outstanding all-round game and you get the feeling we must go up for him to stay.
In the first half we seemed to sit off them, giving them too much time and space on the ball, which epitomised both goals. Second half we harried them more and got in their faces, which they struggled to cope with.
It's a shame Macclesfield won, which took some of the gloss off our victory, but hats off to them as they've won yet another fixture we failed to win (that's a fact, not pessimism!).
Second place now looks very achievable and don't mind who we play; would be great to play Wrexham, with PP packed to the rafters. However, I have predicted that Wrexham will miss out on the play-offs and currently that's where it's heading; wher's Dai when you need him!!

I am beginning to think that a 1 leg semi at Prenton vs Sutton utd might be the best, that is if we finish 2nd or 3rd and Sutton don't finish in the top 3. Sutton are stuttering now and they've lost their last 3 games. Maybe Sutton don't want to rip up their 3G pitch after all, lol.

Noooo not Fylde you can see the headline ex rovers players meet as managers etc I really don’t fancy Fylde they score to many goals you don’t want them over 2legs .wrexham have surprised me the number of points dropped the last 2months is amazing they could have given Macc a run for their money ,what has happened is that my brother lives opposite Wrexham training fields and his wife is always watching them through the kitchen window she has a face only a mother could love so I reckon they have been traumatised .cant think of any other explanation .its between 8 teams for 7play off places at the moment they could fall out of contention .we have to keep winning we will lose one I think Aldershot Halifax Dover could be potential banana skin games I would take one defeat 4 wins now

FiftyyearsaroverNoooo not Fylde you can see the headline ex rovers players meet as managers etc I really don’t fancy Fylde they score to many goals you don’t want them over 2legs .wrexham have surprised me the number of points dropped the last 2months is amazing they could have given Macc a run for their money ,what has happened is that my brother lives opposite Wrexham training fields and his wife is always watching them through the kitchen window she has a face only a mother could love so I reckon they have been traumatised .cant think of any other explanation .its between 8 teams for 7play off places at the moment they could fall out of contention .we have to keep winning we will lose one I think Aldershot Halifax Dover could be potential banana skin games I would take one defeat 4 wins now

it wouldn't be over 2 legs, the new format means that ALL play off matches are just the one leg.

I could see us grabbing a win against the shots, they're a hard working side but lack some of the quality they had last season. Dover is a tricky one so i'll be ecstatic with a draw/win but would take a no-score draw right now.

Halifax, Solihull and H'Pool are all winnable. We just have to show a professional manner to get the job done.

those play off dates are subject to change coz of TV, but I wouldn't think they would change. no kick off times mentioned as of yet. bit surprised the wembley final is a Saturday, its usually on a sunday

HKR, it's much better being on the Saturday with a day off work on Sunday. I'll be either getting over the biggest celebration hangover for many a moon or drowning in self-pity. So will it be Sobering Sunday or Suicidal Sunday?

Phil65HKR, it's much better being on the Saturday with a day off work on Sunday. I'll be either getting over the biggest celebration hangover for many a moon or drowning in self-pity. So will it be Sobering Sunday or Suicidal Sunday?

what would be better phil is drinking right thru to early hours monday after our wembley win on the saturday , taking a sickie on monday and back to the grind tuesday. sadly i will not be coming back this year.

hi phil, have just found out the reason why the play off final is on Saturday, the sunday is the final round of matches in the premier league season and tottenham v leicester is on the sunday at wembley.

hong kong roverhi phil, have just found out the reason why the play off final is on Saturday, the sunday is the final round of matches in the premier league season and tottenham v leicester is on the sunday at wembley.

I watched the extended highlights of the game. Rides certainly earned his place in the side two great crosses for goals 2 and 3. What did worry me a little was the second Gateshead goal, that corner routine is very similar to the one Eastleigh used, they didn't score but its something MM needs to take a look at, because you can be sure opposition managers will be looking at it and working on something similar. The defenders need to be switched on and close down the player running from deep.

mini_andyI think scotty will be disappointed with the 2 goals he conceded having watched the highlights

Not a Scott fan but no real chance with the second, it skidded in and bounced right in front. More of a worry is our tendancy to not pick people up in the box and picking up players on the edge of the area is defending corners 101. They had a disallowed Tap in to. Get away with it against likes of Gateshead but it’s why we have struggled against top sides, and have that regular L in amongst our W’s, we don’t do the basics well and the top sides are good enough to exploit.

mini_andyI think scotty will be disappointed with the 2 goals he conceded having watched the highlights

Not a Scott fan but no real chance with the second, it skidded in and bounced right in front. More of a worry is our tendancy to not pick people up in the box and picking up players on the edge of the area is defending corners 101. They had a disallowed Tap in to. Get away with it against likes of Gateshead but it’s why we have struggled against top sides, and have that regular L in amongst our W’s, we don’t do the basics well and the top sides are good enough to exploit.

Davies was not a fault with either goal. Ridehalgh gave the scorer far too much room for the first and the second came through a mass of bodies.

The disallowing of their tap in intrigued me. As the original shot deflected off one of our defenders, was their ''scorer'' not played onside? Or maybe the officials[who were pretty good compared to most]construed it as Kane's shoulder and therefore disallowed it?

have just seen the 10 min highlights on you tube, looks as if cookie could have had 1 or 2 more goals. thought his best goal was the 2nd goal to equalize, gatesheads 2nd goal was a nice strike. poor old gateshead are playing again tonight at halifax.